At the core of modern pagan witchcraft is a knowledge system concerning traditions of nature, connection, and embodiment to the astrological planets. Throughout magical history, practitioners of magic have looked to the planets for inspiration and magical help. From the earliest beginnings of written magical texts - the Grimoires - magical systems were based on the seven planetary powers that were visible in the night sky. The Grimoires were then studied by practitioners of folk-magic - the Cunning Folk - and by influential groups from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn to practitioners of Modern witchcraft.
Pagan Portals: Planetary Magic is an accessible and practical introduction to pre-modern planetary magic. It details with each of the planets, what its magical qualities are, and how to work practical magic with each.
About the Author
Dr Rebecca Beattie is a Wiccan Priestess with a PhD in Creative Writing. Rebecca grew up on Dartmoor, which gave her an early appreciation of the power and joys of nature. She has been practising solitary witchcraft for twenty years and an initiate of the Gardnerian Wiccan tradition for fifteen. She is acclaimed for her highly informed teaching of witchcraft subjects. By day she is a professional in a major charity, with advanced degrees in Literature and Creative writing.
Rebecca's book, "Wheel of the Year: A nurturing guide to rediscovering nature’s cycles and seasons" is published by Elliott and Thompson. The Wheel of the Year offers the tools you need to reconnect with the ancient rhythms of the year (from equinoxes to solstices), to develop new seasonal rituals and transform how you relate to the natural world.
Rebecca's other books include "Nature Mystics: The Literary Gateway to Modern Paganism", which traces the lives and work of ten writers who contributed to the cultural environment that allowed Modern Paganism to develop and flourish throughout the twentieth century. Her first novel "The Lychway" is set on Dartmoor and is interwoven with the folklore and the landscape of that sacred place. Her second novel, "Somewhere She is There" follows the journey of a woman learning to deal with the grief of losing her mother to cancer, while her third book, "The Softness of Water" is a selection of short stories and fairy tales based on the wisdom of the Tao te Ching.
Rebecca also keeps a blog at www.rebeccabeattie.co.uk
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Industry Reviews
Praise for previous work Pagan Portals: Nature Mystics - I expected to skim this book, and ended up by reading every word. It is a wonderfully deft and vivid introduction to a broad range of distinguished British authors whose contribution to the making of modern Paganism is both considerable and little understood.--Ronald Professor Hutton
